US10457100B2 - Cart wheel assembly with replaceable tire - Google Patents

Cart wheel assembly with replaceable tire Download PDF

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Publication number
US10457100B2
US10457100B2 US16/053,346 US201816053346A US10457100B2 US 10457100 B2 US10457100 B2 US 10457100B2 US 201816053346 A US201816053346 A US 201816053346A US 10457100 B2 US10457100 B2 US 10457100B2
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Prior art keywords
wheel
seam
tire
locking
seam end
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US20190030955A1 (en
Inventor
William J. Bateman, JR.
Kevin J. Rackers
Nathan J. Rackers
Sean Joseph Rayna
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Automation Techniques Inc
Gowheels Inc
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Gowheels Inc
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Assigned to gowheels, Inc. reassignment gowheels, Inc. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BATEMAN, WILLIAM J., JR.
Assigned to BATEMAN, WILLIAM J., JR. reassignment BATEMAN, WILLIAM J., JR. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES, INC.
Assigned to gowheels, Inc. reassignment gowheels, Inc. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES, INC.
Assigned to AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES, INC. reassignment AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: RACKERS, KEVIN J., RACKERS, NATHAN J.
Assigned to AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES, INC. reassignment AUTOMATION TECHNIQUES, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: RAYNA, SEAN JOSEPH
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60C—VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
    • B60C7/00—Non-inflatable or solid tyres
    • B60C7/24—Non-inflatable or solid tyres characterised by means for securing tyres on rim or wheel body
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B33/00—Castors in general; Anti-clogging castors
    • B60B33/0036—Castors in general; Anti-clogging castors characterised by type of wheels
    • B60B33/0039—Single wheels
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60C—VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
    • B60C7/00—Non-inflatable or solid tyres
    • B60C7/08—Non-inflatable or solid tyres built-up from a plurality of arcuate parts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2200/00—Type of product being used or applied
    • B60B2200/40—Articles of daily use
    • B60B2200/43—Carts
    • B60B2200/432—Shopping carts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/50—Improvement of
    • B60B2900/521—Tire mounting or removal
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/50—Improvement of
    • B60B2900/541—Servicing
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60C—VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
    • B60C7/00—Non-inflatable or solid tyres
    • B60C2007/005—Non-inflatable or solid tyres made by casting, e.g. of polyurethane
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60C—VEHICLE TYRES; TYRE INFLATION; TYRE CHANGING; CONNECTING VALVES TO INFLATABLE ELASTIC BODIES IN GENERAL; DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS RELATED TO TYRES
    • B60C2200/00—Tyres specially adapted for particular applications

Definitions

  • This disclosure relates generally to wheels including wheels for carts, including shopping carts of all types that are used by customers in retail stores.
  • the teachings of the disclosure may be applied to other wheels using non-pneumatic tires.
  • FIG. 1 introduces a wheel from a shopping cart.
  • the wheel assembly 100 is connected to a caster assembly 130 by a nut 138 and bolt 134 where the bolt 134 runs through the center of a hub and bearing assembly 120 .
  • the wheel assembly 100 includes a wheel 144 and a tire 140 that rotate relative to the bolt 134 as there is a bearing (not shown) that allows for this relative motion. Frequently there is a sleeve bearing as that type of bearing is of lesser cost than a ball bearing.
  • carts used in various retail environments. Many carts have a wire basket for the receipt of goods. Some carts such as those used in hardware stores or bulk item stores such as a Costco® store are large flat carts. There are other more specialized carts, particularly in hardware stores, that are adapted for receipt of lumber, drywall, or other common construction items. Many stores have carts that include places for children to sit including carts that have been made to resemble vehicles or other shapes to amuse the child occupants.
  • Carts typically have at least some caster assemblies 130 with a bearing 136 to allow for rotation of the wheel assembly 100 to allow for a change of direction of the cart. Some carts have two wheel assemblies that are not free to change direction and two wheel assemblies that are free to change direction. Other carts have all wheel assemblies capable of changing direction.
  • TPU thermoplastic polyurethane
  • the defect may be a flat spot or a gouge where there is now a discontinuity in the tire surface. Either way, the rotation of the tire will produce a sound and vibration each time the flat spot or gouge rotates to come in contact with the floor.
  • the first is the vertical load that tends to flatten the tire.
  • the second is the rolling direction load that is minimized as long as the hub and bearing assembly 120 are not seized and wheel assembly 100 is allowed to roll.
  • the third loading direction is the side load condition and is the one that is most important to the design. The following is a description of how this side load impacts the design. This description starts with an examination of the robust, but non replaceable tire design of the prior art to highlight the challenge of creating a replaceable tire that will perform as well as the non-replaceable prior art tire 140 .
  • FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a tire 140 that lies on a wheel 144 .
  • FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the tire 140 and wheel 144 showing the simple arrangement of the tire 140 along the perimeter of the wheel 144 .
  • FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the lower portion of the tire 140 and wheel 144 from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 . If someone drove one shopping cart into the side of another shopping cart, the struck cart would have a lateral force 184 to move the cart and the attached wheel sideways. The portion of the tire 140 in contact with the ground 188 would resist moving sideways because of the friction force 180 and the tire 140 may be separated from the wheel 144 . The problem is particularly acute for a wheel assembly 100 that is not able to change orientation with respect to the cart which is frequently true for two of the four wheel assemblies.
  • the sideward force may not come from a cart collision. It could come from a user trying to slide the cart sideways to change directions in tight quarters. Or the sideways force may come when a store employee is moving a long train of shopping carts back into the store and needs to move the end of the train of carts closest to the employee sideways to allow the train of carts to navigate back into the store. Thus, wheel 144 will experience lateral forces with some frequency, even if the cart is not hit in the side by another cart.
  • FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a portion of a wheel 144 and tire 140 with a first order solution to make the tire 140 less likely to be separated from the wheel 144 .
  • the wheel 144 has added geometry to the wheel 144 which is a wheel center ridge 148 .
  • the tire 140 will have a mating groove to receive the wheel center ridge 148 .
  • FIG. 6 the lateral force 184 is applied to the wheel 144 through the cart (not shown here).
  • a reaction to the ground 188 provides a friction force 180 which tends to cause the tire 140 to separate from the wheel 144 .
  • the wheel center ridge 148 prevents the tire 140 from sliding off as discussed in connection with FIG. 4 .
  • the tire 140 on the opposite side of the lateral force 184 will separate from the wheel 144 . This may be called roll-out separation.
  • the roll-out separation may be severe enough to pull the tire 140 so that it does not reseat when the application of lateral force stops.
  • FIG. 7 shows a wheel 144 and tire 140 with a more complex wheel center ridge 148 .
  • the wheel 144 and tire 140 may suffer from roll-out separation under severe lateral forces.
  • FIG. 8 shows a front view of a wheel 144 with a prior art solution to this problem.
  • the wheel 144 has a series of through holes 146 .
  • a tire 140 can be molded onto the wheel 144 so that the tire material passes through the through holes 146 in the wheel 144 and thus engages the tire 140 to the wheel 144 so that the tire 140 is not peeled off during incidents of significant lateral forces on the wheel assembly 100 .
  • FIG. 9 shows cross section in perspective view that shows a wheel 144 with engaged tire 140 that extends through the through holes 146 in the wheel 144 .
  • Tires 140 that have material that passes through openings in the wheel 144 are the current prior art solution to creating durable wheel assemblies for carts as shown in FIG. 1 discussed above.
  • this wheel assembly 100 design requires the tire material to be molded in place on the wheel so that the tire material can pass through the through holes 146 in the wheel 144 . This molding process can only be effectively accomplished at a manufacturer's facility and is not an option for providing replacement tires.
  • radially outward or radially inward should be interpreted as moving in a way that increases or decreases the distance to the center of the wheel or other relevant object. Is not necessary that the movement be precisely aligned with a particular radius of the wheel as long as one of skill in the art would be able to discern whether the motion was largely moving towards or away from the center of the object.
  • substantially X means that for purposes of this industrial process it is X. So something that may not be absolutely parallel but is for all practical purposes parallel is substantially parallel. Likewise, mixed air that has substantially uniform temperature would have temperature deviations that were inconsequential for that industrial process.
  • the method including forming a tire seam with:
  • the method including inserting the at least one locking finger into the at least one opening to draw the first seam face to the second seam face; and after inserting the at least one locking finger into the at least one opening to draw the first seam face to the second seam face, inserting a finger locking pin to engage a passageway in the second seam end first sidewall, a passageway in the second seam end second sidewall, a passageway through a portion of the locking finger, and at least one passageway through the wheel.
  • a variation on this teaching is to use a finger locking pin but not engage the wheel with the finger locking pin.
  • Some of the aspects of the teachings of the present disclosure may be summarized as a method of disengaging a seam at a joint between two tire ends for a tire covering a wheel.
  • the method includes pressing on a first end of a first locking pin at a first tire sidewall to force a second end of the first locking pin to extend outward from a second tire sidewall, then removing the first locking pin from engagement with a wheel so that a second seam end is no longer engaged with the wheel by the first locking pin; and disengaging a locking finger extending from a first seam end from an opening in the second seam end such that the first seam end is disengaged from the second seam end.
  • Some of the aspects of the teachings of the present disclosure may be summarized as a creating an assembly made from a wheel with a tire on the wheel.
  • the wheel having a set of locking grooves to receive locking ribs from a tire segment.
  • the tire segment with a first end and a second end, the first end and the second end adapted to form a tire seam.
  • the tire segment having a spacing of a pair of locking ribs on the tire segment relative to a spacing of a pair of locking grooves on the wheel causing a portion of the tire segment to become elongated in order to place a first locking rib in a first locking groove and second locking rib in a second locking groove adjacent to the first locking groove.
  • Some of the aspects of the teachings of the present disclosure may be summarized as a method of applying a tire segment to a wheel by placing a tire segment around at least a portion of a wheel such that sidewalls of the tire segment cover at least a portion of a center ridge on at least a portion of the portion of the wheel.
  • the method includes placing at least a portion of a tire joint section of a second type over at least a portion of a tire joint section of a first type to form an overlapped joint and engaging at least one passageway through the wheel so that the overlapping joint is bound to the wheel.
  • inventive concepts are illustrated in a series of examples, some examples showing more than one inventive concept. Individual inventive concepts can be implemented without implementing all details provided in a particular example. It is not necessary to provide examples of every possible combination of the inventive concepts provide below as one of skill in the art will recognize that inventive concepts illustrated in various examples can be combined together in order to address a specific application.
  • FIG. 1 introduces a wheel from a shopping cart.
  • FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a tire 140 that lies on a wheel 144
  • FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the tire 140 and wheel 144 showing the simple arrangement of the tire 140 along the perimeter of the wheel 144 .
  • FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the lower portion of the tire 140 and wheel 144 from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 .
  • FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a portion of a wheel 144 and tire 140 with a first order solution to make the tire 140 less likely to be separated from the wheel 144 .
  • FIG. 6 shows the lateral force 184 is applied to the wheel 144 through the cart.
  • FIG. 7 shows a wheel 144 and tire 140 with a more complex wheel center ridge 148 .
  • FIG. 8 shows a front view of a wheel 144 with a prior art solution to this problem.
  • FIG. 9 shows cross section in perspective view that shows a wheel 144 with engaged tire 140 that extends through the through holes 146 in the wheel 144 .
  • FIG. 10 shows a side view of a half-rivet 250 .
  • FIG. 11 shows a perspective view showing the outward surface 270 of one half-rivet 252 and the flat inside face 274 of the half-rivet 254 on the opposite side of the wheel.
  • FIG. 12 shows cross section of a tire 240 mounted on wheel 300 .
  • FIG. 13 introduces a T-tongue part of the tire joint.
  • FIG. 14 shows a groove end 450 of a segment of a tire 240 that can mate with the T-tongue 400 of FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 15 shows a shopping cart 110 resting with the handle 112 up.
  • FIG. 16 shows a portion of the shopping cart 110 and wheel assembly 118 .
  • FIG. 17 shows a wheel 300 receiving a single piece tire segment 490 with a T-tongue 400 and a groove end 450 .
  • FIG. 18 shows a wheel 300 with a first tire segment 494 having a T-tongue 400 and a groove end 450 .
  • FIG. 19 shows a second tire segment 498 having a T-tongue 400 and a groove end 450 .
  • FIG. 20 shows the wheel 300 after the T-tongue 400 of second tire segment 498 is placed on the wheel 300 to place the T-riser section 320 between two rivet holes 308 .
  • FIG. 21 shows the first tire segment 494 and second tire segment 498 with a pair of seams 440 .
  • FIG. 22 shows the inner side of a tire segment 492 .
  • FIG. 23 shows a front view of a wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 24 shows a front-top-left side perspective view of the wheel 500 from FIG. 23 .
  • FIG. 25 is a top-front perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 which shows joint portion 550 of the wheel with joint groove 532 and an enlarged view of the male pin bore 520 and first locking pin bore 524 and second locking pin bore 528 .
  • FIG. 26 shows a front view of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 27 shows a front-top-left side perspective view of the tire 600 from FIG. 26 .
  • FIG. 28 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the male portion 630 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 29 provides a downward-front perspective view looking onto the top surface of the male portion 630 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 30 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the female portion 660 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 31 provides a downward-front perspective view looking onto the top surface of the female portion 660 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 32 shows a top-front perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 . From this view, one can see the female portion 660 seated on the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 33 shows a front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 .
  • FIG. 34 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 33 but with the locking finger 640 of the male portion 630 beginning to engage with opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • FIG. 35 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 34 but with the locking finger 640 of the male portion 630 almost seated in opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • FIG. 36 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 35 but with the locking finger 640 of the male portion 630 fully seated in opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • FIG. 37 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 36 but with the male locking pin 730 fully inserted into the first sidewall bore 734 and through the second sidewall bore 738 after passing through the male pin bore 520 in wheel 500 to hold the male portion 630 to the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 38 is a front view of wheel 500 with specifics on the spacing of the locking grooves 512 .
  • FIG. 39 shows a front view of tire 600 before engagement with the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 40 , FIG. 41 , FIG. 42 , and FIG. 43 each show a side view of a partial wheel and a partial tire to show some locking groove/locking rib combinations.
  • FIG. 44 shows that the first step is to remove the locking pins 730 and 760 .
  • FIG. 45 illustrates the insertion of a distal end 594 of a tool 590 such as an appropriate size flathead screwdriver into the seam 620 between the male portion 630 and the female portion 660 of the tire 600 .
  • a tool 590 such as an appropriate size flathead screwdriver
  • FIG. 46 illustrates a continuation of the process as the distal end 594 of the tool 590 is moved between the locking finger 640 and the second sidewall 608 .
  • the process may continue for several iterations until the locking finger 640 is out of the opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • FIG. 47 shows a tire 900 made from a short segment 910 with a pair of male portions 630 with locking fingers 640 , one at a first end 914 and one at a second end 918 .
  • FIG. 48 is a front-top perspective view of a portion of a tire 930 with a male portion 934 with a pair of locking fingers 640 .
  • FIG. 49 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the male portion 1630 of tire 1600 .
  • FIG. 50 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the female portion 1660 of tire 1600 .
  • An improved wheel assembly for use in shopping carts would have a tire that is a replaceable part. Desirable characteristics include:
  • FIG. 10 shows a side view of a half-rivet 250 .
  • FIG. 11 shows a perspective view showing the outward surface 270 of one half-rivet 252 and the flat inside face 274 of the half-rivet 254 on the opposite side of the wheel (wheel not shown here).
  • the half-rivet 250 may be simply a shaft 260 with an expanded diameter section (head 262 ) on top.
  • the head 262 may be frustoconical with a leading portion 266 , a tapered portion 264 and a trailing flange 268 .
  • approximately half of the rivet is missing and there is the flat inside face 274 .
  • the inside face does not have to be flat as long as it fits within the rivet through a hole in the wheel and has room relative to the radial face of the wheel.
  • the expanded diameter of head 262 will compress to fit in the passageway and will snap back out laterally when the trailing flange 268 of the half-rivet head 262 exits the passageway. Since the expanded diameter of the half-rivet head has a barbed shape with a trailing flange 268 , the half-rivet head 262 will resist being pulled back out of the passageway.
  • FIG. 12 shows cross section of a tire 240 mounted on wheel 300 .
  • the hub and bearing assembly (compare 120 in FIG. 1 ) is not shown in this cross section but there is a center sleeve 304 to receive the hub and bearing assembly.
  • FIG. 12 there are four pairs of half-rivets that secure the tire 240 to the wheel 300 .
  • the cross section shown in FIG. 12 runs through half-rivet 252 and half-rivet 254 at 6 o'clock on the wheel 300 .
  • the cross section also runs through half-rivet 220 and half-rivet 224 at 12 o'clock on the wheel 300 .
  • the half-rivet 290 is visible at 3 o'clock on the wheel 300 but the half-rivet on the back side of the wheel 300 is not.
  • the other half of the wheel 300 would have a set of half-rivets at 9 o'clock on the wheel 300 and the other halves of half-rivets 250 , 254 , 220 , and 224 .
  • each half-rivet passes through a rivet hole 308 in the wheel 300 .
  • the number of pairs of half-rivets does not need to be four. It is possible that it could be less than four but could easily be more than four pairs.
  • the half-rivets could be arranged so that they do not align across the wheel.
  • the half-rivets could be placed at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock and on the opposite face of the wheel the half-rivets could be placed at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 o'clock.
  • the number of half-half rivets on the first side of the wheel is not equal to the number of half-rivets on the other side of the wheel.
  • it is likely that the half-rivets will be arranged in pairs on either side of the wheel 300 as shown in FIG. 12 .
  • the proposed design uses at least one tire segment. Each place that two tire segment ends meet, there is a seam. Minimizing the discontinuity at the seams is important to avoid having the seams provide a source for noise or vibration as the tires on the wheels are rolled across very smooth floors. Note that rolling across a rough surface such as asphalt is actually less demanding from a performance perspective as customers will expect vibration on the rough surface. The customers will be largely intolerant of noise or vibration coming from the wheel assemblies when rolling the cart wheel assemblies on extremely smooth floors—as are found in many retail establishments.
  • peel-up is when an end of the tire segment peels up away from the wheel.
  • Gapping is when the two tire segments do not peel up, but a noticeable gap appears between the two adjacent tire segments.
  • FIG. 13 introduces one part of the tire joint. Unlike the tire of the prior art that was molded on the wheel, the present disclosure teaches a tire 240 that is created away from the wheel 300 and then applied to the wheel 300 .
  • the joint has two components, a T-tongue 400 shown in FIG. 13 and a groove end 450 discussed in connection with FIG. 14 .
  • FIG. 13 shows a T-tongue 400 with a tongue height 404 that is less than the tire height 408 .
  • the T-tongue 400 extending beyond the main portion 412 of the tire 240 forms a T to rest on top of the center ridge 348 of the wheel 300 .
  • the components of the T-tongue 400 extend from the tongue base 416 outward with a T-riser section 420 that covers the wheel center ridge and a wider T-crossbar 424 that extends outward perpendicular to the wheel circumference.
  • the T-tongue 400 has three planes perpendicular to the circumference of the wheel:
  • FIG. 14 shows a groove end 450 of a segment of a tire 240 that can mate with the T-tongue 400 of FIG. 13 .
  • the groove end 450 is adapted to cover the T-tongue 400 and then hold the pair of segment ends ( 400 and 450 ) down on the wheel ( FIG. 13 300 ) with a pair of half-rivets 454 and 458 that extend through corresponding passageways in the wheel 300 .
  • the groove end 450 has three planes perpendicular to the circumference of the wheel:
  • T-riser section 420 By careful selection of the length of the T-riser section 420 that one could trap the T-crossbar 424 in the groove end 450 of a segment between the medial groove flange 478 and the proximal groove flange 482 so that the T-riser section 420 is in elastic deformation and thus in tension and pulls the distal groove flange 456 towards the tongue base 416 to minimize any gap between the two tire segment ends ( 400 and 450 ).
  • the pair of half-rivets ( 454 and 458 ) inserted through rivet holes 308 in the wheel 300 prevents the groove end 450 of the one segment and the entrapped T-tongue segment 400 from peel-up.
  • the installation process can use one or more tire segments.
  • other components such as the hub and bearing assembly or the engagement of the wheel assembly to a cart caster or to a fixed portion of the cart frame are not included in the assembly images.
  • FIG. 15 shows a shopping cart 110 resting with the handle 112 up.
  • the shopping cart 110 may have two wheel assemblies 114 and 116 at the front end of the shopping cart 110 which may turn to allow the cart to be steered.
  • the shopping cart 110 may have two more wheel assemblies 118 and 124 at the back end and not able to rotate to steer the shopping cart 110 . Wheel assemblies 118 and 124 do not have tires installed yet.
  • FIG. 16 shows a portion of the shopping cart 110 and wheel assembly 118 . Notice that there are a set of through bores 312 in wheel 300 .
  • a distal end of a tool 460 such as a Phillips head screwdriver, may be inserted through a hole 464 in the shopping cart 110 shopping cart and through one of the through bores 312 to stop the ability of the wheel 300 to rotate around the hub and bearing assembly 120 located in the center sleeve 304 in the wheel 300 .
  • the use of through bores 312 to immobilize the wheel 300 is optional and thus the presence of the through bores 312 in the wheel 300 is optional.
  • FIG. 17 shows a wheel 300 receiving a single piece tire segment 490 with a T-tongue 400 as discussed in FIG. 13 and a groove end 450 as discussed in FIG. 14 .
  • FIG. 17 shows a wheel 300 receiving a single piece tire segment 490 with a T-tongue 400 as discussed in FIG. 13 and a groove end 450 as discussed in FIG. 14 .
  • no other components are shown in FIG. 17 .
  • the process is to place the T-riser section 420 between two rivet holes 308 .
  • the single piece tire segment 490 is then applied around the circumference of the wheel 300 with the center ridge 348 enveloped by the single piece tire segment 490 .
  • the half-rivets 250 are inserted through the rivet holes 308 and retained, with the half-rivets 454 and 458 inserted last to complete the installation.
  • the single piece tire segment 490 could be installed clockwise or counterclockwise on wheel 300 as it is the pairs of half-rivets that engage with the wheel 300 not the T-tongue 400 or the groove end 450 .
  • the tool 460 may be removed from the hole 464 and removed from the through bore 312 and the wheel 300 rotated to allow the user performing installation of the single piece tire segment 490 to position the next set of rivet holes 308 to be engaged with half-rivets to be unobstructed by any portion of the shopping cart 110 . After repositioning, the tool 460 may be inserted through the hole 464 and an appropriately located through bore 312 so that the wheel is not able to rotate around the hub and bearing assembly 120 .
  • FIG. 18 shows a wheel 300 with a first tire segment 494 having a T-tongue 400 and a groove end 450 .
  • the T-riser section 420 is placed between two rivet holes 308 .
  • the first tire segment 494 is then applied around the circumference of the wheel 300 with the center ridge 348 enveloped by the first tire segment 494 .
  • the half-rivets 250 are inserted through the rivet holes 308 and retained. Note that the half-rivets 454 and 458 from the groove end 450 are not immediately inserted as these will be inserted last to complete the installation.
  • FIG. 19 shows a second tire segment 498 having a T-tongue 400 and a groove end 450 .
  • FIG. 19 differs from FIG. 18 in that groove end 450 of second tire segment 498 is put into position with the insertion of half-rivets 454 and 458 ( 458 not visible here) to capture the T-tongue 400 of first tire segment 494 .
  • the remainder of second tire segment 498 can be inserted over the center ridge 348 of the wheel 300 .
  • the second tire segment 498 is sufficiently pliable that it can be bent during the placement process as indicated by inflection point 486 .
  • FIG. 20 shows the wheel 300 after the T-tongue 400 of second tire segment 498 is placed on the wheel 300 to place the T-riser section 320 between two rivet holes 308 .
  • the groove end 450 of the first tire segment 494 was not engaged with the wheel when the first tire segment 494 was applied but is now ready to lock down the T-tongue 400 of the second tire segment 398 .
  • first tire segment 494 is sufficiently pliable to allow the groove end 450 to be lifted away from the wheel 300 while portions of the first tire segment 494 are engaged with the wheel 300 through inserted half-rivets 252 .
  • FIG. 21 shows the first tire segment 494 and second tire segment 498 with a pair of seams 440 .
  • the groove end 450 of the second tire segment 498 holds down the T-tongue 400 of the first tire segment 494 .
  • the groove end 450 of the first tire segment 494 holds down the T-tongue 400 of the second tire segment 498 .
  • connection of one T-tongue 400 and one groove end 450 of the tire segments could be augmented by the use an adhesive such as Liquid Nails® brand construction adhesives.
  • a small amount of adhesive could be placed on the T-tongue 400 for example to bind the top of the T-tongue 400 to the inside of the groove end 450 .
  • the adhesive will not impair the subsequent removal of the tire after end of service as the removal process does not work to undo the joining of the two tire segment ends and the adhesive is placed between tire segments ends 400 and 450 and not between the tire segment ( 490 , or 494 and 498 ) and the wheel 300 .
  • the removal of the one or more tire segments may begin in the same manner as discussed above for tire installation.
  • the shopping cart 110 may be positioned so that the wheel assembly to have the tire removed is accessible (See FIG. 15 ).
  • a tool 460 may be inserted through a hole 464 in the shopping cart 110 and through one of the through bores 312 to stop the ability of the wheel 300 to rotate around the hub and bearing assembly 120 located in the center sleeve 304 in the wheel 300 (See FIG. 16 ).
  • the tire removal process works the same for tires made from one tire segment 490 or from more than one segment such as first tire segment 494 and second tire segment 498 .
  • the set of half-rivet heads 262 of the half-rivets 250 may be cut by inserting a sharp edge 468 (represented here by a utility knife blade) between the flange 268 (See FIG. 10 ) of the half-rivet 250 and the wheel 300 in order to remove the half-rivet heads 262 of the half-rivets 250 from the shaft 260 . Without the flange 268 , the shaft 260 is no longer retained by the wheel 300 . The order of cutting the half-rivets 250 is not important.
  • connection of one T-tongue 400 and one groove end 450 of the tire segments could be augmented by the use of an adhesive such as Liquid Nails® brand construction adhesives.
  • a small amount of adhesive could be placed on the T-tongue 400 for example to bind the top of the T-tongue 400 to the inside of the groove end 450 .
  • the adhesive will not preclude the subsequent removal of the tire after end of service as the removal process does not work to undo the joining of the two tire segment ends and the adhesive is placed between tire segments ends 400 and 450 and not between the tire segment ( 490 , or 494 and 498 ) and the wheel 300 .
  • the wheel 300 has a number of transverse notches 350 in the wheel center ridge 348 .
  • the location of the transverse notches 350 may be noted by notch indicators 354 on the outsides of the wheel 300 , such as the arrowheads used here.
  • the transverse notch 350 allows the sharp edge 468 to cut through the tire segment ( 490 or 494 and 498 ) from one side to the other without having to cut around the raised perimeter of the wheel center ridge 348 .
  • the tire segment 492 may have a transverse ridge 488 that corresponds to the upper portion of the transverse notches 350 but does not have sufficient height to extend to the bottom of the transverse notches 350 in the wheel 300 in order to facilitate cutting the entirety of the transverse ridge 488 to free the tire segment 492 from the wheel 300 .
  • This wedge shaped transverse ridge 488 would resist any tendency of the tire segment 492 to sag into the transverse notches 350 when the transverse notches 350 is the portion of the tire segment 492 supporting the wheel assembly 100 .
  • One of skill in the art could have the wedge shaped transverse ridge 488 that completely fills the transverse notches 350 but any debris left in the transverse notches 350 during installation or manufacturing tolerance excursions could lead to a slight raised portion of the tire segment 492 above a transverse notch 350 and cause a slight vibration.
  • a wedge shaped transverse ridge 488 that does not extend to the bottom of the transverse notch 350 is preferred.
  • the wheel 300 may have several transverse notches 350 , only one cut across the tire segment 492 would be required to remove the tire made from one or more segments with adhesive bonded seams from the wheel 300 .
  • half-rivets 250 (See FIG. 22 ) that are under tension to pull the tire segment (or segment ends at a seam between two ends) towards the wheel 300 .
  • a design choice available to increase tension is to size the un-stretched shaft 260 of the half-rivets slightly shorter than the passageway length of the rivet holes 308 through the wheel 300 .
  • the half-rivet head 262 is pressed through a rivet hole 308 in the wheel 300 to allow the trailing flange 268 to extend out of the rivet hole 308 the distance between the trailing flange 268 and the tire end of the shaft 260 will be more than the un-stretched length of the shaft 260 of the half-rivet 250 .
  • This stretching of the shaft 260 is at least partially elastic deformation which acts as a stretched spring to hold the tire segment ( 490 , 494 , and 498 ) to the wheel 300 .
  • the portion of the center ridge 348 intended to be covered by the T-tongue 400 may be made less tall so that the T-tongue 400 or possibly the thickness of the groove end 450 positioned above the T-tongue 400 (or both) may be made slightly thicker to increase the strength or durability of these segment ends.
  • the first four figures introduce components on the wheel 500 and tire 600 .
  • the interactions with these components will be addressed in specialized figures to follow.
  • FIG. 23 shows a front view of a wheel 500 .
  • Wheel 500 has some of the features previously presented with respect to wheel 300 .
  • wheel 500 has the optional through bores 516 to use with a tool 460 engaged with a hole 464 (See FIG. 16 ) to stop the ability of the wheel 500 to rotate around the hub and bearing assembly 120 (See FIG. 1 ).
  • FIG. 24 shows a front-top-left side perspective view of the wheel 500 from FIG. 23 .
  • FIG. 24 shows center ridge 548 of wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 23 and FIG. 24 show male pin bore 520 and first locking pin bore 524 and second locking pin bore 528 . These pin bores will be discussed in detail below.
  • FIG. 23 and FIG. 24 show a series of locking grooves 512 and a joint groove 532 .
  • FIG. 25 is a top-front perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 which shows joint portion 550 of the wheel with joint groove 532 and an enlarged view of the male pin bore 520 and first locking pin bore 524 and second locking pin bore 528 .
  • the joint portion 550 includes a finger gap 554 which will be described below.
  • FIG. 26 shows a front view of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 27 shows a front-top-left side perspective view of the tire 600 from FIG. 26 .
  • the tire 600 has a male portion 630 and a female portion 660 that are joined to form a seam between the male portion 630 and female portion 660 .
  • the tire 600 has a set of locking ribs 612 for placement in the locking grooves 512 in the wheel 500 . Visible in FIG. 27 are a first sidewall 604 and a second sidewall 608 that cover the sides of the center ridge 548 of the wheel 500 . Components important to forming a joint between the male portion 630 and the female portion 660 are visible in FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 but these components are best introduced by enlarged sections discussed below.
  • FIG. 28 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the male portion 630 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 29 provides a downward-front perspective view looking onto the top surface of the male portion 630 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 30 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the female portion 660 of tire 600 .
  • FIG. 31 provides a downward-front perspective view looking onto the top surface of the female portion 660 of tire 600 .
  • locking finger 640 which has: an outward portion 644 , a gap 646 , and a downward portion 648 .
  • the gap 646 separates the joint rib 632 that fits in the joint groove 532 of rim 500 from the downward portion 648 of the locking finger 640 .
  • Having a generous gap 646 by placing the joint rib 632 a generous distance away from the face 658 of the male portion 630 affords some leeway when stretching locking finger 640 so that the male portion 630 does not make contact with the female portion 660 and interfere with the insertion of the locking finger 640 into the opening 668 .
  • the compression overhang 654 the distance that face 658 extends outward from joint rib 632 can be adjusted so that after insertion—face 658 is compressed tightly against face 688 . Having the seam 620 ( FIG. 37 ) in compression helps the prevention of debris entry into the seam 620 .
  • FIG. 30 and FIG. 31 Visible in FIG. 30 and FIG. 31 are components to engage with the locking finger 640 .
  • opening 668 which can receive the downward portion 648 of the locking finger 640 .
  • crossbar 676 which fits into gap 646 between the downward portion 648 of the locking finger 640 and the joint rib 632 .
  • Face 658 of the male portion 630 is adjacent to face 688 of the female portion 660 when the tire seam is completed.
  • a tire 600 is retained to the wheel 500 at the joint of the male portion 630 and the female portion 660 through the use of two locking pins, a male locking pin 730 and a finger locking pin 760 .
  • the route for the male locking pin 730 may be identified.
  • the route for insertion of the male locking pin 730 would be:
  • the route for the finger locking pin 760 may be identified.
  • the route for insertion of the finger locking pin 760 would be:
  • joint groove 532 in FIG. 25 could be expanded towards the tip of the finger gap 554 in FIG. 25 so that the wheel 500 does not include a first locking pin bore 524 and a second locking pin bore 528 .
  • the route for insertion of the finger locking pin 760 would be:
  • FIG. 32 shows a top-front perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 . From this view, one can see the female portion 660 seated on the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 33 shows a front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 .
  • the male portion 630 of the tire is close to the female portion 660 but not yet engaged with the locking finger 640 in the opening 668 .
  • FIG. 34 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 33 but with the locking finger 640 of the male portion 630 beginning to engage with opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • FIG. 35 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 34 but with the locking finger 640 of the male portion 630 almost seated in opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • FIG. 36 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 35 but with the locking finger 640 of the male portion 630 fully seated in opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • the male locking pin 730 may have segments with different diameters such as first end 744 , middle 746 , and second end 748 .
  • the finger locking pin 760 may have segments with different diameters such as first end 774 , middle 776 , and second end 778 . It is not required that the male locking pin 730 be interchangeable with finger locking pin 760 . However, those of skill in the art will recognize that there is an advantage in reducing the number of unique parts to build and store in inventory.
  • the locking pins 730 and 760 do not have to be mirror images on either side of the longitudinal midline, but one of skill in the art will recognize that having a pin with two ends that work in the same manner is a slight advantage. Note that the ends 744 , 748 , 774 , and 778 have a reduced diameter relative to the middles 746 and 776 . This allows an end to be relatively easy to insert into the sidewall bores 734 , 738 , 764 or 768 and then driven with a tool so that the broader middles 746 and 776 can be used to expand the relevant bores and make it unlikely that the locking pins 730 or 760 will come out without a specific effort to remove the pin.
  • FIG. 37 shows the same front-right-top perspective view of a portion of wheel 500 and tire 600 shown in FIG. 36 but with the male locking pin 730 fully inserted into the first sidewall bore 734 and through the second sidewall bore 738 after passing through the male pin bore 520 in wheel 500 to hold the male portion 630 to the wheel 500 .
  • the finger locking pin 760 is fully inserted:
  • the locking pins 730 and 760 and corresponding holes in the tire 600 and wheel 500 are designed so the locking pins 730 and 760 have a friction fit and are pressed into the tire 600 and wheel 500 .
  • the locking pins 730 and 760 can have multiple diameters and the holes in the tire and wheel could be designed to help to lock the locking pins 730 and 760 in place.
  • the bores 520 , 524 and 528 in the wheel 500 could be 0.125 inches in diameter and the middle sections 746 and 776 of the locking pins 730 and 760 could be slightly smaller than 0.125 inches in diameter, such as 0.124 inches in diameter so that the locking pins 730 and 760 do not need to expand rigid wheel 500 .
  • the diameter of the locking pins 730 and 760 at the ends 744 , 748 , 774 , and 778 could be noticeably small, such as only 0.100 inches in diameter. But the sidewall bores 734 , 738 , 764 and 768 could be about this same diameter, 0.100 inches. Since the tire 600 is made of a somewhat flexible material, the 0.124 inch middle diameter for section ( 746 or 776 ) of the locking pins 730 and 760 could be pressed with some force through the 0.100 in diameter of the sidewall bores 734 , 738 , 764 and 768 in the tire 600 .
  • middle section 766 or 776 would only pass through one sidewall bore 734 , 738 , 764 and 768 in the tire 600 but the locking pin 730 or 760 could be inserted from the first side or the second side of the tire 600 .
  • the locking pin 730 or 760 will tend to stay in position as considerable force would be required to move the expanded middle section 746 or 776 through any of the smaller diameter sidewall bores 734 , 738 , 764 and 768 in the tire 600 .
  • This removal of the locking pins 730 or 760 would require direct axial force on the locking pins 730 or 760 and this would not happen by accident.
  • locking pins 730 or 760 While the interaction of the locking pins 730 or 760 with the tire 600 and wheel 500 as set forth above is desirable, it is not strictly required.
  • Another design that takes advantage of many teachings of the present disclosure could have locking pins with constant diameter but have smaller diameter sidewall bores 734 , 738 , 764 and 768 in the tire 600 to act to hold the pin in place.
  • FIG. 37 there is a sidewall seam 690 where face 658 of the male portion 630 is adjacent to face 688 of the female portion 660 of tire 600 .
  • the tire 600 starting at face 688 of the female portion 660 of tire 600 all the way around the wheel 500 and back to distal tip 694 of locking finger 640 is more than 360 degrees as the locking finger 640 extends beyond sidewall seam 690 .
  • Molding a tire 600 that is more than 360 degrees poses some challenges.
  • One solution is to break the tire 600 into two or more segments as described above and have additional seams.
  • FIG. 38 and FIG. 39 illustrate another solution.
  • FIG. 38 is a front view of wheel 500 with specifics on the spacing of the locking grooves 512 .
  • Wheel 500 has nine locking grooves 512 spaced at 41.25 degrees.
  • the interactions of the male portion 630 of the tire 600 with the female portion 660 of the tire 600 occur in the 30 degrees between the adjacent locking grooves 512 , centered on joint groove 532 .
  • FIG. 39 shows a front view of tire 600 before engagement with the wheel 500 . Notice that the distance from the locking rib 612 which is the last male locking rib 696 to the face 658 of the male portion 630 is 15 degrees. Likewise, the distance from the locking rib 612 which is the last female locking rib 698 to the face 688 of the female portion 660 is 15 degrees.
  • the locking finger 640 which extends beyond face 658 of the male portion 630 is identified as length A.
  • each segment of tire 600 between adjacent locking grooves 512 of the wheel 500 will be stretched slightly to stretch the locking rib gap of 40 degrees to 41.25 degrees.
  • Eight small stretches of the tire 600 to engage with the wheel 500 stretches the tire 600 to allow the tire 600 to overlap the locking finger 640 with the female portion 660 .
  • radius 584 in FIG. 38 can be the same as radius 684 in FIG. 39 so that the sidewalls of the tire 600 have the same radius as the relevant portion of the wheel 500 .
  • Having a tire 600 with a radius 684 significantly more than radius 584 is an alternative to requiring the tire stretch to fit around the wheel.
  • a larger radius 684 could be used to make the length of the arc between 698 and 696 larger so opposing faces 658 and 688 will meet without tire stretch when wrapped around the wheel with smaller radius 584 .
  • the downside of this approach is that tire 600 will not grip as tightly to the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 40 , FIG. 41 , FIG. 42 , and FIG. 43 each show a side view of a partial wheel and a partial tire to show some locking groove/locking rib combinations.
  • FIG. 40 shows a segment of a wheel 804 with segment of a tire 854 .
  • Each tire locking rib 858 fits into a corresponding sized locking groove 808 .
  • the opening 806 of the locking groove 808 is large relative to the leading end 852 of the locking rib 858 , the insertion of the locking rib 858 into a corresponding sized locking groove 808 is relatively easy but is not effective to stretch the tire 854 or to hold the locking rib 858 in the locking groove 808 .
  • the choice shown in FIG. 40 may be used when the tire 854 is designed for hardness or thickness and not capable of significant stretch during installation.
  • FIG. 41 shows a segment of a wheel 814 with segment of a tire 864 .
  • the locking rib 868 is the same size as the locking groove 818 but the spacing of locking ribs 868 is smaller than the spacing of the locking grooves 818 so the tire 864 is stretched during installation.
  • FIG. 42 shows a segment of a wheel 824 with segment of a tire 874 .
  • the locking rib 878 is the same size as the locking groove 828 but the radially distal end 832 of the locking groove 828 is smaller than the radially proximal end 836 of the locking groove.
  • the leading surface 882 of the locking rib 878 is the size of the radially proximal end 836 of the locking groove rather than the smaller radially distal end 832 of the locking groove 828 , extra force is required to insert the locking rib 878 into the locking groove 828 which tends to help lock the locking rib 878 in the locking groove 828 .
  • FIG. 43 shows a segment of a wheel 844 with segment of a tire 894 .
  • the locking rib 898 is the same size as the locking groove 848 but as in the design shown in FIG. 42 , extra force will be required to force the locking rib 898 through the small opening 846 of the locking groove 848 .
  • TPU thermoplastic polyurethane
  • This class of polymer material is a mix of hard segments and soft segments. By altering the proportion of hard segments to soft segments, one can vary the mechanical properties of the TPU. Thus a design that called for locking ribs to be forced through a narrow opening into the locking groove may benefit from a softer TPU that can allow that temporary change in shape.
  • the requirements for the tire portions to stretch between adjacent locking grooves may impact the choice of TPU used so that the tire is capable of the required stretch without making undue demands on the person doing the installation.
  • a tire 600 may be removed from a wheel 500 while the wheel 500 is still attached to the shopping cart 110 (See FIG. 15 ) while optionally immobilizing the wheel 500 by sticking the distal end of the tool 460 through a hole 464 (See FIG. 15 ) in a portion of the shopping cart 110 and a through bore 516 in the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 44 shows that the first step is to remove the locking pins 730 and 760 .
  • the removal of the locking pins may start with pressing on the locking pins 730 and 760 on one side of the wheel 500 and then pulling on the locking pins 730 and 760 once they extend out of the tire sidewall on the other side of the wheel 500 .
  • FIG. 45 illustrates the insertion of a distal end 594 of a tool 590 such as an appropriate size flathead screwdriver into the seam 620 ( FIG. 44 ) between the male portion 630 and the female portion 660 of the tire 600 .
  • the distal end 594 of the tool 590 may be inserted between the locking finger 640 and the first sidewall 604 .
  • FIG. 46 illustrates a continuation of the process as the distal end 594 of the tool 590 is moved between the locking finger 640 and the second sidewall 608 .
  • the process may continue for several iterations until the locking finger 640 is out of the opening 668 in the female portion 660 .
  • the male portion 630 may be peeled back from the wheel 500 . This process may continue around the perimeter of the wheel 500 until the tire 600 is entirely free of the wheel 500 . At this point the wheel 500 can be inspected. If the wheel 500 is suitable for reuse, then a new tire 600 may be applied to the wheel 500 and locked into place with the locking pins 730 and 760 as described above.
  • TPU thermoplastic polyurethane
  • the locking pins and the wheel may be made from polypropylene. Other dimensionally stable polymers, metals, or other materials may be used.
  • the example showing tire 600 on wheel 500 used one tire segment to cover the wheel 500 .
  • the teachings of the present disclosure could be implemented having two or more tire segments to cover the wheel 500 .
  • a wheel may be covered by a set of tire segments that are not all the same length. Likewise some segments may have a pair of male portions 630 and some segments may have a pair of female portions 660 .
  • FIG. 47 shows a tire 900 made from a short segment 910 with a pair of male portions 630 with locking fingers 640 , one at a first end 914 and one at a second end 918 .
  • a corresponding long segment 920 has a pair of female portions 660 with openings 668 to receive the locking fingers 640 .
  • the seams may be completed with the use of male locking pins 730 and finger locking pins 760 (not shown here) engaging with bores in the wheel and sidewalls as discussed above.
  • the wheel 500 shown above would need to be modified to accommodate the change in tire seams from the single seam shown in tire 600 with wheel 500 .
  • the example set forth above had one locking finger 640 that fit into one opening 668 in the female portion 660 of the tire 600 . This is not a requirement to have just one locking finger 640 .
  • One of skill in the art can appreciate, particularly for a wider tire, that it may be appropriate to have more than one locking finger 640 and more than one opening 668 to receive the locking finger 640 .
  • the wheel would need to be adjusted to allow a locking pin to engage bores in each locking finger 640 to help maintain the seated position of the locking fingers 640 .
  • FIG. 48 is a front-top perspective view of a portion of a tire 930 with a male portion 934 with a pair of locking fingers 640 .
  • the tire 930 has a female portion 938 with a pair of openings 668 to receive the pair of locking fingers 640 . If the use of the pair of locking fingers 640 and pair of openings 668 is because the face of the tire 930 is broader than the face of tire 600 , then the locking pins would need to be scaled to the appropriate size.
  • the finger locking pin may engage bores in the wheel in three places rather than two places as shown in wheel 500 . Thus the route for insertion of the finger locking pin would be:
  • first sidewall bore and second sidewall bore are terms used to describe the travel of the locking pin entering from a particular side and the travel of the locking pin may from the opposite side thus starting with the second sidewall bore and ending at the first sidewall bore.
  • a first tire segment end could have at least one locking finger that extends outward to a second tire segment end to engage with an opening that receives the locking finger.
  • the first tire segment could also have an opening that receives a locking finger extending from the second tire segment end.
  • At least one locking pin would capture and retain a portion of the at least one locking finger from the first tire segment and at least one locking pin would capture and retain a portion of the at least one locking finger from the second tire segment.
  • segment ends in FIG. 48 could have one locking finger 640 extending left to right as shown and one locking finger 640 extending from right to left (opposite to that shown).
  • a designer may choose to have a tire segment that has a first locking finger 640 extending from left to right on the half of tire segment adjacent to the first sidewall 604 and not have any locking finger on the half of tire segment adjacent to the second sidewall 608 so that there is a face to face joint on that half of tire seam which is held in place by the actions of the locking pins on each side of the seam.
  • a choice is not precluded by the teachings of the present disclosure although in most instances a designer would prefer a symmetric design that minimizes the length of seam away from a locking finger 640 .
  • a locking pin could have a triangular, square or other shape and engage with openings in the tire and wheel that correspond to the shape of the locking pin.
  • a designer may choose to place a locking pin of a first shape in a passageway of a second shape.
  • a round locking pin could be placed in a passageway that is triangular, square, or oblong providing that the pin can be driven through the passageway.
  • locking fingers that extend along the circumference of the tire and then substantially radially downward into a gap in the wheel.
  • This design works well, but a designer may choose to have a locking finger that extends along a gap in the center ridge of the wheel and then extends upward through a corresponding opening in the female portion of the seam to form the upper surface of the tire.
  • a finger locking pin would engage the lower portion of the locking finger with the wheel and the sidewalls of the female portion of the seam.
  • having a locking finger that extends radially outward through an opening in the female portion of the seam will make it expedient to set the male portion of the seam in place before placing the female portion of the seam on top of the locking finger.
  • FIG. 49 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the male portion 1630 of tire 1600 .
  • FIG. 49 includes a distal tip 1652 at the end of a locking finger 1640 which extends radially outward from where the tire 1600 would rest on the wheel.
  • FIG. 50 provides an upward-front perspective view looking up into the female portion 1660 of tire 1600 .
  • FIG. 50 includes an opening 1668 which can receive the distal tip 1652 of the locking finger 1640 .
  • locking fingers that extend along the circumference of the tire and then substantially radially downward into a gap in the wheel. This design works well, but a designer may choose to have a locking finger that extends along a gap in the center ridge of the wheel and does not have a 90 degree bend.
  • a finger locking pin would engage a distal portion of the locking finger with the wheel and the sidewalls of the female portion of the seam.
  • having a locking finger that extends linearly into an opening in the female portion of the seam may require insertion of the distal portion of the locking finger into a proximal end of the opening in the female portion before the male portion and the female portion are seated upon the wheel.
  • the tire segment ends will need to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate this process.
  • wheels may be found in medical, industrial, commercial, residential, academic, or other types of facilities in addition to wheels used on items that are used outdoors.
  • teachings of the present disclosure may be used for wheels that are in a fixed location such as rollers for an assembly belt or drive wheels that are used in amusement park rides to drive items such as flume ride cars.

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EP3658385B1 (fr) 2023-01-18
US20200156410A1 (en) 2020-05-21
EP3658385A1 (fr) 2020-06-03
EP3658385A4 (fr) 2021-04-14
CA3054346C (fr) 2020-04-21
AU2018307804B2 (en) 2022-09-15
WO2019023514A1 (fr) 2019-01-31
US10730349B2 (en) 2020-08-04
US20190030955A1 (en) 2019-01-31
CA3054346A1 (fr) 2019-01-31
ES2941492T3 (es) 2023-05-23

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